Giovanni Ercolani

Giovanni Ercolani is a researcher at Universidad de Murcia, Spain, affiliated with the ‘Culture and Society’ research group. Holding a PhD in Anthropology from Universidad de Murcia (2017), his work bridges anthropological theory and security practice through field-based analysis of civil-military operations and cultural dimensions of conflict.

Education

• PhD in Anthropology, Universidad de Murcia (2017). Thesis: ‘La cooperación civil-militar en las operaciones post-conflicto como espacio antroplógico: el caso del equipo italiano multinacional CIMIC en el espacio de la paz virtual del Líbano’, supervised by Dr. Fina Antón Hurtado.

Ercolani’s research centers on the anthropology of security, examining how cultural intelligence operates in military contexts and how security discourses shape identity. His fieldwork in Lebanon (CIMIC operations) and Ukraine (Maidan Museum) reveals the interplay between ethnographic insight and security practices, particularly in post-conflict settings. He critically analyzes the ‘market of anxiety’ and securitization processes as cultural systems, challenging technocratic approaches to security.

His publication trajectory (2011-2023) shows evolving focus from NATO’s institutional discourse (2011-2013) to granular ethnographies of information warfare (Al Shabaab, 2022) and cultural resistance (Turkish feminism, 2019-2020). Recent work emphasizes material culture’s role in conflict memory, as seen in his 2023 Maidan Museum study, indicating a shift toward visual anthropology in security contexts.

No scientific awards or major grants are documented in available sources.

While no formal students are listed, his supervisory role is implied through thesis examination and research group leadership. Current projects likely involve the ‘Culture and Society’ group’s investigation of security’s emotional dimensions and digital conflict landscapes.

Ercolani operates within Universidad de Murcia’s ‘Culture and Society’ research ecosystem, which facilitates interdisciplinary security studies through anthropological frameworks and fieldwork partnerships in conflict zones.